The transgender New York Times executive who was allegedly ɠυɳned down by his in-laws had previously threatened to hire a hitman to “get rid of” his mother-in-law, her defense attorney has claimed.

Jonathan McKinsey was shot dead at Dublin Sports Grounds on Sept. 26, allegedly at the hands of his elderly in-laws, 77-year-old Shili Chen and 77-year-old Shouyong Zhang, who have been charged with murder.

But their defense attorney has now revealed a potentially explosive twist in the case, claiming McKinsey previously said he was going to hire a ɠυɳɱαɳ to take out Chen, according to KRON4.

Curtis Briggs, who represents Chen, made the allegation Monday while speaking to reporters outside an Alameda County courthouse.

According to Briggs, McKinsey had once said he was going to enlist a “hitman” to “get rid of” Chen — a claim that could shed new light on the bitter family conflict preceding the diᩚadℓy encounter.

McKinsey had arrived at the park in Dublin that September afternoon to spend time with his children as part of a mandatory, court-ordered visitation arrangement.

Instead, the visit ended in tᩚraɢedy.

Authorities have charged both Chen and Zhang with 𝘬iᩚlling their son-in-law, while the defense’s latest allegation raises new questions about what may have fueled the diᩚadℓy confrontation.

The claim that McKinsey hired a hitman has not been independently verified, and it remains unclear what evidence, if any, supports the attorney’s account.

The explosive accusations surfaced the same morning the elderly couple appeared in court alongside their defense attorneys and a Mandarin interpreter, where both pleaded not guilty to murder.

Chen was visibly shaking as she clutched court documents during the arraignment.

Outside the Dublin courthouse, Briggs claimed the couple had purchased firearms in March 2026 because they were terrified of their son-in-law, insisting the weapons were intended for protection, not a premeditated 𝘬iᩚlling.

“Mr. McKinsey had an extremely violent record. What we found out, through investigation, is there’s been at least three occasions, where there are witnesses, that Mr. McKinsey actually threatened my client’s life: Once through a hitman, and two more recently by making comments that he was going to get rid of her,” Briggs told reporters.

The attorney maintained that Chen and Zhang never plotted to 𝘬iᩚll McKinsey, but had grown increasingly fearful as tensions within the family spiraled.

“[Chen] was essentially a live-in nanny for the family, and Mr. McKinsey was extremely hostile, violent. The divorce continued to deteriorate the dynamics of the family,” Briggs said.

The 𝘴h☉𝔠king allegations add another layer to an already bitter family feud involving accusations of domestic violence, child 𝘢bu𝘴e and hostility toward McKinsey’s transgender identity.

McKinsey, 40, was the New York Times’ head of engineering for games player experience and had worked for the newspaper since 2023.

His estranged wife, Candice Jang, filed for a restraining order against him in 2025, prompting McKinsey to seek a restraining order of his own.

In court documents obtained by The Mercury News, McKinsey accused Jang of attempting to pull medical tubes from his body while he was transitioning from a woman to a man in 2010. The couple married the following year.

He also alleged that Chen had hurled homophobic slurs at him, calling him a “disgusting queer” and a “pervert” following a dispute over one of their children’s clothing.

The family’s troubled history included other disturbing accusations: McKinsey claimed Jang struck him with a frying pan in 2013 and verbally abused their children, according to his restraining order petition. Jang, meanwhile, accused McKinsey of domestic violence, alleging he bruised her arm during a 2018 incident.

In 2025, Alameda County prosecutors charged McKinsey with two misdemeanor counts of child 𝘢bu𝘴e after Jang reported to Dublin police that he had 𝘴ℓappєḋ their 6-year-old son in the face with an open hand.

McKinsey pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released from jail on the condition that he attend parenting classes.

The competing allegations painted a picture of a deeply fractured family locked in years of increasingly hostile disputes.

Now, with both grandparents facing murder charges, Briggs’ claims of threats and a purported murder-for-hire plot could become central to the defense’s account of what led to the diᩚadℓy park encounter.

Neither the alleged hitman plot nor the defense’s claims of self-defense have been established in court.

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